'So many towns have fairs, and we didn't have them anymore. I really wished we had more things happening in town.'

Bayonne's Hometown Fair is making a comeback.

Carrissa Golomb, a resident and local business owner, is making a push to bring back the annual event, and has both community support and the mayor on her side.

Golomb said reviving the festival will not only bring back a sense of community, but also be a boon for local businesses.

"I thought I would love to bring it back for the town and the kids," Golomb said. "It could bring some more businesses to Bayonne, which would be a great thing!"

Golomb, who is married and has two small children, said the impetus to restore the family event came to her while running her home business, Reese's Hair Pieces, a children's clothing and accessories company.

She would commute to nearby city festivals and carnivals to sell her wares, but began wondering, "Why go out of town when you can stay in town?"

"So many towns have fairs, and we didn't have them anymore," said Golomb, who will soon be setting up her business in a store on Broadway. "I really wished we had more things happening in town."

So in October, Golomb took to the Internet. She began two petitions to gauge whether there was even any interest in putting on a hometown festival.

"It just kind of snowballed," Golomb said. "People want to do events like all other towns do."

Golomb, 30, said she wanted to bring back many of the activities and things that she looked forward to at the festival when she was growing up in Bayonne.

"I wanted to do it for the town and my kids," Golomb said. "I feel that Bayonne lost a little bit of its sense of community" after the festival was nixed in the 2000s.

Jeff Meyer, a spokesman for Mayor Jimmy Davis, said the mayor was "fully supportive" of rejuvenating the Hometown Fair in Bayonne. Davis recently met with Golomb to talk about the fair, which Meyer said was "a productive meeting."

The event is tentatively planned for spring of 2015 and is expected to be between 22nd and 24th streets along Broadway.

Golomb said she wants to have local merchants and restaurants set up booths along Broadway, as well as have live music, carnival games and rides. There could also be a dunk tank, which Golomb said may feature the mayor as the one being dunked.

And while much has yet to be planned, Golomb said she hopes the Hometown Fair becomes an annual event once again.

"I would love to see this come back every year," Golomb said. "I want to see good things happen in Bayonne."

Interested in setting up a merchant's booth or volunteering for the fair? Then send an email to Carrissa Golomb to carrissagolomb@gmail.com for more information.